For many years, it has been known to dispense liquids, such as soaps, sanitizers, cleansers, disinfectants, lotions, and the like from a dispenser housing maintaining a refill unit that holds the liquid and provides the pump mechanisms for dispensing the liquid. It is desirable in these product dispensers to provide a maximum internal volume to allow a greater quantity of liquid to be provided in a refill unit, thereby reducing the maintenance work required to keep the dispenser filled. These dispenser housings generally include a back plate that is wall-mounted and a cover hinged to the backplate to pivot between an open position, wherein a refill unit can be removed or installed, and closed position, wherein the dispenser can be actuated to dispense product.
A pushbar is often hinged to the cover and pivoted to cause the dispensing of product from a refill unit retained in the housing. However, some dispensers employ a single piece integral cover and pushbar wherein the cover pivots as a whole to actuate the pump mechanics of the refill unit within the housing. These types of dispensers are often desired due to their appearance and simplicity of construction since the pushbar is not a separate hinged element. The pump mechanism employed with such dispensers has typically been a liquid pump or a foam generating pump, simply emitting a predetermined quantity of the liquid or foam upon movement of the cover/pushbar.
In the prior art, dispensers having a single piece cover/pushbar included a pivot point at the top of the dispenser, where the cover is pivotally secured to the backplate. As can be appreciated, when the cover of such a dispenser is pressed to actuate a pump, the cover pivots so that it intrudes upon the internal volume of the dispenser, or, stated differently, the portion of the cover below the pivot point (which is essentially the entire cover) moves toward the backplate, decreasing the volume within the housing. As a result, refill units must be made smaller to allow for this intrusion upon the internal volume of the dispenser by the cover/pushbar, thereby reducing the amount of liquid that can be supplied in a single refill unit, and increasing the frequency of installing new refill units. Thus, there is a need for a product dispenser with a one-piece cover and pushbar that does not intrude upon the internal volume of the dispenser housing when actuated.